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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22842037">To a Fault</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/eyeofxana/pseuds/eyeofxana'>eyeofxana</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Umbrella Academy (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canonical Character Death, Character Study, Gen, Introspection, One Shot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 15:56:05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>330</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22842037</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/eyeofxana/pseuds/eyeofxana</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Watching over them wasn't the same as protecting them.<br/>In his final moments, though he can't condone it, Pogo understands why he's about to die.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>To a Fault</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There’s a moment, just before Vanya repeats the question, when Pogo thinks the situation might be salvageable. The delusion of a foolish old soul too used to stepping back.</p><p>The next moment his body is in the air, and time slows to a near-stop around him. With the sudden clarity of those near death, Pogo knows he is breathing his last. He doesn’t want to die, of course; that is a sentiment that transcends species. Acceptance, however, is different. This isn’t the first time he has considered his own end.</p><p>Perhaps he should have known, given what has transpired since Sir Reginald’s death. This latest turn of events is merely the culmination of a week of unraveling. As he spilled secret after secret, Pogo could feel himself diminishing, both in his own eyes and in those of the children. <em>Children</em>—no longer the appropriate term, but to think of them as adults would be to accept that the harm has been done, that the time has passed in which to fix it. It would be to accept that, though he had tried his best to watch over them, watching alone was never enough.</p><p>Pogo has always considered himself indebted to Sir Reginald: the kind of debt owed to savior, one that would take a lifetime to repay. And therein lay the problem. His debt bowed his head when he should have lifted his eyes. It cowed him into silence when he should have spoken. And now that it's all ending, Pogo is face to face with the consequences. He told himself it was loyalty, but a loyalty born of fear is still cowardice. They were children, and they trusted him. Is it irony or justice, that their undoing has become his?</p><p>He regrets, he regrets.</p><p>If he is remembered, after his death, how will he be remembered? How will <em>they</em> remember him? As a guardian, an ally, a teacher, a servant?</p><p>A silent figure always standing back, watching, watching, watching.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Pogo is a controversial character for sure. Personally, I loved how morally complicated he is as a character. Also, that CGI. Couldn't take my eyes off him.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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